Arsenal vs. Chelsea – 2 games away from the FA Cup
April 17, 2009
Buoyed by their smashing 3-0 midweek victory over Villarreal in the Champions League, an elated but injury-riddled Arsenal side, face the daunting prospect of tackling the Chel$ki Blues at Wembley this Saturday in the FA Cup Semi-Final.
This is an extremely crucial game for Arsenal in many ways. After 4 years without adding to the trophy cabinet, it is realistically one of the Gunners two chances for silverware this season, the CL being the other. Secondly, this game could set the tone for the rest of the season, which wraps up with a schedule from hell, that features ManUre 3 times, Chel$ki twice, and Liverpool once.
This win would put us one up against the winner of the ManUre/Everton match in the Cup Final, bolstering the confidence of an often emotionally-fragile young squad and helping maintain our momentum. A loss (such as last year’s 5-1 FA Cup thrashing at the hands of the Blues) not only reduces our silverware chances to one, but could erode team confidence and morale, and prove devastating at this point of a decidedly uneven season.
Arsenal has extended their unbeaten streak once again, posted a shut-out with a patched up defense, scored 3 goals and and welcome back CL-tied Arshavin into the squad, they face a task made more difficult with young Kieran Gibbs now being listed as doubtful, due to a knock picked up in the last game. With Sagna still recovering from the flu, our threadbare defense becomes even thinner with Gallas and Djourou already unavailable. If neither Gibbs or Sagna are available, Song would be pushed into service at CB alongside Toure, with Eboue and Silvestre on filling out the rear flanks.
The loss of Song at DM, who has shown himself as being the only player at this time to pair with Cesc effectively in CM, would certainly be devastating. Denilson would then be Cesc’s partner, and while a decent player, he just does not provide the passing vision, hard tackling and aerial ability of Song. This could also restrict Cesc as he would have to assume a more defensive posture and therefore reduce our attacking capabilities.
Chel$ki on the other hand, is coming off 2 crazy games in which they have allowed 7 goals, 3 against bottom-feeders Bolton and 4 against Liverpool in the CL. Although conceding 7 goals they came away with a 4-3 win against Bolton in the EPL, maintaining 3rd place, and a 4-4 draw against Pool which sent them into the CL semis against Barca because of superior aggregate (7-5).
The Blues are at full strength however, with the return of Captain John Terry who will probably start alongside Carvalho. With Essien, Ballack and Lampard teaming up in midfield, joined by either Malouda or Mikel, their quartet of players are ideally suited to giving Arsenal fits as they provide speed, craft, hard tackling and superior aerial ability.
With Drogba up front as a solitary striker or paired with ex-Arsenal great, Anelka, on paper Chel$ki must be favorites to win this clash, although they have inexplicably crashed and burned on a number of occasions this season. Most of their flameouts however, occurred under fired manager Scolari, and new coach, Gus Hiddink, seemed to have re-established consistency and a winning attitude.
The FA Cup semis, being played at Wembley for the first time, presents a neutral site, although both clubs should be well represented by their London fans.
While my heart yearns for an Arsenal victory, my brain tells me Chelsea should eke out a narrow victory. However, a victory by my beloved Arsenal, although it would be surprising, would certainly put us one step away from winning the FA Cup, which ironically, is the last trophy we hoisted four years ago.
LET’S GO GUNNERS
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April 17th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Thanks for the match preview. Appreciate your time and effort on these!
April 17th, 2009 at 10:15 am
You are more than welcome Mark.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:18 am
UPDATE: Sagna definitely out, Gibbs is last minute decision. Clichy has fractured vertebrae which means he is out for the season.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Fuck me… that’s our whole left half of the back line out for the season! Gibbs better man up and suit up tomorrow!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
What ever happened to Deco? The move was so hyped up at the beginning of the year. I guess he’s too old/slow to handle the pace of the Premiership. He joins the ranks of the other big and small names who have wallowed away on the Chelsea bench (Crespo, Shevchenko, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, etc.).
I know it might sound like a very one-dimensional analysis, but if Gibbs can get into the starting XI and allow Song to play CM I really think we will beat Chelsea. If not, which means Song will fall back and Denilson will play at CM, I am very doubtful. Again, one-dimensional but that’s how I see it. If Gibbs can suit up, I think it will look like this:
Fabianski
Eboue–Toure–Silvestre–Gibbs
Walcott–Fabregas–Song–Arshavin
van Persie–Adebayor
If no, Arsene will play it this way:
Fabianski
Eboue–Toure–Song–Silvestre
Walcott–Fabregas–Denilson–Arshavin
van Persie–Adebayor
If Denilson does REALLY bad we could bring in Ramsey, but he’d have to do even worse than usual for that to happen. Also, AW better not pull any of that 4-5-1 crap. Especially if Song has to fall back. That would be the end.
One more very bad thing that just occurred to me: Guus Hiddink probably knows the ins and outs of Arshavin’s game better than anyone on the planet (save Dick Advocaat). That could be bad news. This coach of 2-teams thing should really be disallowed.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
It is a one off game and anything can happen, but I don’t feel very confident.
Hiddink is a master tactician, a lot like Rafa and they hold the key in games like this. Chelsea would have watched our defense being decimated and I am sure they will bombard us in the air tomorrow. Of course, Chelsea themselves have displayed a weakness on that front in recent times, but we don’t play to the opposition’s weakness and in this particular case, we are not even equipped to.
Hoping for some magic from Cesc, Walcott, Arshavin, RvP. Anyone will do.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I think you’re touching on a couple of important points here, but I’m not quite as pessimistic about the idea of sliding Song back to CB. First off, AW might decide to start Diaby instead of Denilson which would be a more potent attacking choice. Even if he doesn’t, I think Hiddink’s respect for Arshavin will force him to keep Essien on him just about all game. Ivanovic did score those two headers at Anfield but the little I’ve seen of him in open play is not so impressive. If Arshavin gets him one on one, I expect some good stuff to happen. Our attacking 4 of Theo, RVP, Ade and Arshavin, with Cesc feeding balls to them should scare the crap out of any defense.
Which leads me to want to discuss the rest of Chelsea’s back line. Of course it was abysmal vs Liverpool and Cech is looking extremely suspect. Agressive, attacking GKs (like him and our own Fabianski) can look great when they come off the line and take charge but very poor when they come for balls they don’t get. Chelsea will have Terry back so I expect they’ll be better organized and inclined to foul, foul, foul. Both Carvalho, who seems way off form (struggling with injury?) and Alex (who occasionally seems awfully indecisive) looked very poor against ‘Pool. In many ways an early defensive howler (by either team) or penalty could be what settles this match. Also, Chelsea ought to not be afraid of settling for a draw and a shoot-out with our young keeper vs their “best-in-world.” (But for some strange reason, I’m not.)
In the end, you’d have to agree that Chelsea must be favored, but I see it as another tremendous opportunity for our young team.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I agree completely with ChicagoGunner.
For me this tie rests completely on whether Gibbs is fit or not.
If he is, Song plays midfield and we WILL beat Chelsea. I am confident of that.
If Denilson has to play with Fabregas, Fabregas will play very poorly, Denilson will be anonymous as usual.
In that case we might get the beat down of the month.
Pray for Gibbs before you go to bed tonight.
Diaby might be a solution (ahead of Denilson). But he is not defensive enough. I will still take him over Denilson though, he is at least physical and can tackle much, much better than Denilson (though that is not really hard to achieve).
April 17th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Arsenal Vs Chelsea, it’s all about Drogba. He’s probably THE striker Arsenal defence fear most. I can’t recall any striker we ever faced had given us as much problems at the back as Drogba.
Stop Drogba, stop Chelsea.
April 17th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
All about Drogba and……….Essien. Essien may not as big a threat as Drogba but his irritating ability to do f-all for most of the game and then come on strong in the final half an hour can be an equally damaging killer. This usually coincides with shorty legs Fabregas straining around the defensive third like a geriatric so this is an area that must be watched. It goes without saying we need Song in there, who apparently got the better of Essien in the ACN last year.
To win this game in regulation time we’ll need to score three goals as I can see Chelsea scoring at least twice. So, I’m thinking extra time and sneaking it then could be our best bet.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
It will be a tough game no doubt. Drogba, Lampard and Ballack will give us fits in the air, especially without Djourou tucked in beside Toure. If they decide to play Mikel also we will have a hard time defending set pieces.
Essien is just a beast with an inherent desire to win and can kill you in many ways.
Our best bet will be to score an early goal, put them on the backfoot and go for the counter thru Theo and Arshavin.
Oh yea, as Fred said, pray that Gibbs is fit to start so Song and Cesc can work the MF.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Somehow your last statement feels like the inverse of:
“Save the cheerleader, save the world”
It just has that same dramatic (or even prophetic) flair. It all started with that community shield when Senderos first got the fear of Drogba in him. Since then, it got worse. Sooner or latter, it has to end.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Not sure what the final line-up will be yet (Gibbs starting or not), but whoever it is has to handle the thugs of Chelsea calmly. No need to panic or be bullied. Lampard, Terry and Mikel are always looking for a fight. The midfield needs to be strong especially given the defensive injuries. And hopefully Arsenal don’t make life difficult by giving up needless corners or free kicks around the penalty box.
Aching for a win. Would be nice to get to the F.A Cup final after all these years. And since the F.A Cup is the final game of the season after the league and Champions League final is over, would be nice to see Arsenal there and end the season on a high.
On another note: Arsenal.com says that Wenger could have signed Drogba for £100,000. Would have been a typical Wenger bargain price
Although would be nice to see Wenger get promising players (no age barriers) in the future.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Agreed Sachin, it would be a great note to end the season.
The most important factor in this game is win or lose, do not get blown out. We absolutely need to maintain our confidence for the tasks ahead of us in the EPL and CL.
We can’t get blown out, droop our heads and blame it on injury.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Yeah. You are right in that the team certainly needs a very strong display not only for tomorrow but for the upcoming games.
been talking to a lot of Arsenal fans while watching the recent games and so many keep talking about how this is a great chance for Arsenal to turn this season around completely. There was a point when it looked like a disaster but the players have this great chance to etch out a nice future beyond this season. I remember right after the 2006 CL loss, Henry told Wenger he wanted to stay because he liked what he saw. If the current team puts on a great display, then I am sure you won’t hear Van Persie talk about lack of ambition.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
As long as Gibbs is fit and Song continues at DM, I have no worries cos I know our attacking five can do the business.
Especially with Arshavin replacing Nasri. This is the only trophy Arshavin can win, so you can be sure he will put in a prime performance.
Arshavin will kill whoever is at RB for them. And when he gets bored he will roam too.
Walcott is faster than Cashley. So Cashley will stay back and not support their attack too much.
Fabregas and Song will have to sit back, with Fabregas only moving forward from time to time. I expect pin point long passes from him all game.
Hopefully Adebayor is up for it. If he is, both he and RvP will be able to tie up Essien and the CBs.
Either way, there is NO point whatsoever trying to defend and play “secure” in this game. That will greatly emphasize our weakness and lead to our certain downfall.
We should …. we must go for broke from the first whistle.
Feed our two strikers fast and frequently. Hope for a 2 goal lead, then chill down a bit (with Ade and RvP being more defensive) and try to hit on the counter.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
FRED,
We seem to be agreeing too much lately. You must have started drinking the good “ole” Appleton Jamaican Rum.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I have a feeling that the depleted back line is going to be to much for Arsenal. Sure, they kept a clean sheet vs. Villareal, but that was a relatively toothless team without their midfield. Chelsea will be a different story.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Yup, seems so! lol.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Sure they will score against us….but we will score too.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Update: I saw Gibbs jogging in training (Sky) tonight. That is at least a hopeful sign. He’ll probably get a real test tomorrow before the game.
Our hopeful quest for a trophy now rest on the condition of a groin. Since this is Arsenal, there is no irony in that statement. Just sadness.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Man, I’ve thought about nothing but this match since the Villareal game. I can’t wait for tomorrow morning!! Win or lose, games like this are what football is all about. The passion, the pride, and hopefully… the glory. Should be a raucous atmosphere inside the stadium too. Neutral venues are always an intense atmosphere what with the 50/50 crowd. And with both teams located in London already, that will only add fuel to the fire. It seems particularly special for Arsenal fans, since we the team hasn’t played at Wembley in so long. Not sure if Chelsea has. Lets hope for an excellent game.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Yeah, I’m sure Arsenal will score, I just have a bad feeling about this game. I think the number of defensive injuries is going to be too much to overcome, particularly if Gibbs is out too. The thought of Silvestre anywhere near the field scares me.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
They’ve just got to draw inspiration from the team’s CL run in 05/06. Who the hell was in our back four then? Eboue? Senderos? Flamini? Yet we went nearly 1000 minutes without conceding, against the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, and a Requelme-inspired Villareal. Sometimes you just don’t know. Let’s hope tomorrow is one of those times.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Hi guys, just a heads up for anyone planning to watch tomorrow’s match on Setanta Broadband. They have redesigned their site in the last few days and it requires downloading a couple of new plug ins. The video quality seems like it might have improved a bit, but it takes a few minutes to get everything downloaded so you might want to log in early so you don’t miss the beginning of the match.
Cheers
April 17th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Agree with Andes abt Drogba – when he is healthy and motivated, he is almost unstoppable & fuels their confidence of play.
If we can move the ball through mid-field and keep them on their heels (defensively); we have a chance.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Am I the only one absolutely terrified of the prospect of Drogba Vs Silvestre? Attack has to be our only form of defence today… I am very nervous gentlemen.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Seminole. thx for the headups- I dwnlded the plugin earlier.
The posts leading up are a bit strange IMO.
I thought Song was a beast in CDM against Villareal and other recent games and agree that I’d PREFER he stay there with Gibbs at LB. I don’t think the game is make or break on whether Gibbs plays.
I too fear Drogba but Anelka and Lampard can kill us too.
Things I see as adv.- freshness of Arshavin is a big plus. IF Eduardo is fit I’d like to see him start- against tough CBs a clinical striker is priceless.
Re: Walcott- Cole battle. I see Cole getting a yellow and fouling a lot.
Agree mostly with nipuna, it is a cup game and two teams of high caliber- anything can happen.
Gut feeling is Wenger will rotate to get some fresh legs. Slightly lesser quality in some areas but fresh legs is a gamble but I sense Wenger may do it.
my SWAG for line-up:
Fabianski (loved his Villareal performance)
Eboue Toure Silvestre Gibbs
Diaby Song Fabregas Arshavin
Eduardo Adebayor
Hope Wenger doesn’t pick Denilson and Bendtner for the fresh legs. I know, no Walcott but I think if it is even into the 2nd half he would menace the backline as 2nd half sub (60 min) more so than Diaby. There will be SOME rotation but who?
Go Gunners!
April 18th, 2009 at 11:25 am
just heard on setanta that Arshavin is not starting…wtf.
Also denilson is starting and song on the bench ?
and gibbs is fit to play
April 18th, 2009 at 11:42 am
dubsta that cannot be right Arshavin not starting? Thats unthinkable! There is no way Wenger could play Denilson instead of Song with Silvestre in defence. I think that would be a blunder! If that is true any chances of us winning this game will be dealt a serious blow.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Fabianski
Eboue Toure Silvestre Gibbs
Walcott Fabregas Denilson Diaby
Adebayor ?
Not sure who has the ? spot. May be Song or RVP, but gutted to see Denilson starting and no Arshavin in the starting line-up. Still going to stay positive for now but it looks like we are starting on the back-foot. Goooooners to win
April 18th, 2009 at 11:48 am
my thought too…but the guy on setanta news was pretty confident that arshavin was not starting. the setanta guys speculated that it was probably because walcott and arshavin would be a little “small” so thats why diaby is on instead.
song may be on and we may be going 4-5-1
April 18th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I CANT FUCKING BELIEVE IT.
Its OK though, Arsenal is not the be all and end all, they are just a club. No need to get a panic attack. Or ruin one’s weekend.
I need to repeat that a couple of times and emotionally divorce myself from this.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:59 am
West Ham and Villa have drawn 1-1. I think that could be pretty much it for fourth place. Plus it looks like Stoke have guaranteed survival. So they probably won’t be up as much for the final match.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
If Song and Arshavin are both on the bench that really is un-FUCKING-believable!! What the FUCK, Arsene?!?! AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! WHY??
April 18th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Final match… Depending our result leading up and the results around us I’m hoping that we field a 2nd string and making plans for CL and FA cup final.
This match- did Eduardo get a knock? Thought Diaby might be in the lineup but why Walcott over Arshavin. I think Arshavin has more guile and as I posted b4 Walcott as 2nd half sub against tired legs would be awesome.
Not shocked about Denilson vs. Song. Seems like a Wenger move- outsmarting himself perhaps.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
calm down fabianski
April 18th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
WALCOTTTTTTTT
April 18th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Love it. Guess who had the helping touch in the goal
The hand of Ashley Cole. Is there a new song there?
April 18th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
THEO!!!!
We are playing 4-5-1 with RvP on the left.
Diaby is not doing any defensive work at all.
Denilson is losing every single physical battle.
But we score off of Cashley’s hand!
Lets fluke a second goal cos I dont trust this team to hold up.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The Carling Cup Final ALL OVER AGAIN.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
anyone else noticing how active v. Persie is at closing down Chelsea players.
all equal. damn!
April 18th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Wake up Fabianski.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
chelsea begining to knock on our defense
April 18th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I can’t stand the 4-5-1. Adebayor hasn’t gotten into this game.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Let’s get this straight, some here are suggesting Fabianski is the goods and Almunia is the clown?
Fabianski has been nothing but a reckless clown the moment he joined. I’m not sure where or why he has garnered this reputation.
I’m not sure if I can take Adebayor anymore. I hate the player so much he’s turning me off Arsenal in general.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
If RVP was a horse I would put him down. But then again we know he sucks on the left. More genius from Arsene there.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
We need to bring on Song for Denilson. Some’s got to get physical w/ this Cheski midfield. Then push RVP up to the front and bring on Arshavin for fuck’s sake. I guess take out Diaby for Arshavin since he’s not helping out a whole lot at the back. Why wouldn’t we have just done this at the start???
April 18th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Just when we appluded Wenger to playing 4-4-2 vs Villareal now he goes back to freaking 4-5-1.
Get denilson (song) and Diaby (arshavin) off. We have no fight in mid-field. All of our goal kicks and definsive clearance lands in the middle of the pitch and there are 4 blue shirts and the Arsenal midfield goes AWOL.
If Arsene is trying to save some players for Tuesday at Liverpool, forget it! We have no chance of wining the league and should go all out on every game from now till the end of the season….
April 18th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Oh 4-5-1:
RvP neutralized.
Ade completely out of the game.
Diaby running around like a headless chicken.
Walcott active but too much misplaced running.
Fabregas is too far from anybody intelligent so has to play long balls.
We are seriously lacking a defensive midfielder. Our midfield is so far from our defense.
Our middle is not winning ANYTHING at all. It is absolutely pathetic.
Lampard and Ballack are winning everything and having a FIELD DAY.
Eventually they will make us pay.
I mean, it seems like common sense to play a defensive midfielder when the other team has TWO top-class Attacking midfielders right????
———————————————————
I particularly LOVED the way that fucking retard Denilson casually passed the ball back into the CENTER OF THE BOX, (for the play in which Anelka hit the bar) instead of just running out with it.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
He is playing ALONE! What do you want him to do against TWO CBs and Essien???
Wenger is the imbecile here. He pretty much took both our forwards out of the game.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
The Denilson joke is really wearing thin now. His complete lack of anything remotely resembling intensity is disturbing.
You wouldn’t him to be a fireman. You would burning alive as fireman Denilson takes his time unravelling the hose.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
The worst part of this is that this Chelsea defense is there to be taken. You just have to put two forwards on them. Yet we are wasting time.
And all of a sudden, Wenger has decided that Arshavin is “too small”. WOW!
Ofcourse Wenger will do NOTHING at half time. He will wait the 70th minute first.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
We will not win this game with Denilson in there Ahhh!
April 18th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I am waiting for Denilson to score an own goal. He is close to it judging by the way he is playing.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
arshavin is hard as nails even if he is small in stature. time to take off denilson and diaby and go 4-4-2
wengers head “its still 1-1 so i am going to wait as long as possible to make any substitutions”
April 18th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Diaby too. This is guy is something….
April 18th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Denilson needs to come off. Yikes.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
fuck wenger….thats a looser move…arshavin in for rvp
April 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Hmmmm … Bendtner for Adebayor. Does Wenger really want to win this game? Idiotic.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
what the fuck is Wenger thinking?????
April 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
AND NOW BENDTNER FOR THE DADE!!!!!
April 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
John Terry really is frustrating. He goes down on his own with Cesc on his back and sure enough the ref buys it because the ref doesn’t realize that Terry is capable of cheating.
what’s going on? Bendtner on for Ade? Is the only reason that Arshavin didn’t start was because Hiddink is his national coach?
fuck. Drogba..again…
April 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
fucking shit
its going to be a miracle if we manage to draw. the only consistent goal scorers are watching from the side lines
April 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Ok, I dont know what that substitution was all about.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Crap defending but that was terrible by Fabianski.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Chelsea 2 – Wenger 1 Guttted!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
So we have one goal keeper who stays rooted always, another who comes out too early at times.
Andez, you did have that prophetic note earlier and it seems that at Arsenal no one believes in prophecies.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
if we fail to score, i blame wenger above all for this loss.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Wenger is an utter, utter IMBECILE.
He will NEVER win anything again.
Its all good though. He does not deserve a trophy, winning a trophy after a season of disaster will HIDE all the horrors we have witnessed this season.
Lets just ease out fourth place and try not to lose too large to Man U in the semis.
And our VERY BEST PLAYER, Arshavin, was not brought on till 77th minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WENGER IS AN IMBECILE!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Wenger takes the blame for this loss. I’m really peeved. I would rather see 4-4-2 and see what this team can do. Cesc, V. Persie and Adebayor were not in the game at all and the substitutions were terrible. Fabianski stunk it up today.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Really hard to take. Awful sense of Deja vu, again and again…when will it stop? yes there were defensive injuries but still it didn’t have to be this way. But it is. So Wenger claims he could have signed Drogba for 100,000. That’s in the past, but in the present, Arsenal can’t handle Drogba. He disappears and then from nothing scores.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
welcome downhill
April 18th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I dont mind the loss, but its Wengers stupid decisions that dumbfounds me
April 18th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
ive never posted on this site but ive been following it for 5 years but i could not take it anymore wenger is shit!! he wanted to lose the game!! denilson over song? then bring on bendter?
April 18th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Wenger and the team bottles it again.
That’s generally what happens when your manager is coward who exudes negativity and is “not especially convincing” when it comes to big games. Why did he blather on about the pitch before the game?
Sounded like a man who was making excuses in advance.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
i can’t wait to see the press conference i wonder what he could say to justify what he did
April 18th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
stupid fucking wenger got the tactics wrong. didn’t change anything at half time, and then replaced RVP with arshavin? should have replaced denilson (song) and diaby (arshavin). Both the numpties gave away the ball so much.
fucking cheski divers… ballack, drogba, and terry. dives everytime they were cornered and coudnlt find a way out.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
” I am proud of my kids”. ” They are still young and still developing.” kind of thing pretty sure. This guy has lost it.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
i have never said this before in my life…but i m gonna say it ….fuck u wenger…fuck u….i dont care what u say in ur post match interview…but u fucked up big time….i wouldn’t have minded if we had lost this game, but u know what wenger…u put out a team to lose..from the start it was a team to lose..ur formations were all wrong…ur substitutions were the fucking worst…..u bastard, i know u know a great deal about the game, but dont be so arrogant ….u r doing a fucking disservice to fans of arsenal all over the world ..u bastard…
i am very angry..very very angry…as angry as the fans who are sitting in wembley right now….
April 18th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Arghhhhhhhhhhhh. F**************ck.
It doesn’t matter who Chelsea’s coach is, just seems that Arsenal know how to take the lead and then give it up. Ok, I take that back. If Chelsea’s coach is Big Phil, then yes Arsenal can fall behind and win. But be it Jose, Avram or Guus: Arsenal take the lead, and then let Chelsea tie it up and then…wait for it..then let Drogba score the winner. In the Carling Cup, it was the 84nd minute, today it was the 84th minute and in the league last year, it was the 82th minute. Are you kidding? He even has the time down when he will score the winner against Arsenal. Honestly.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
even if the team wanted to do anything, wenger decided to handicap them with 4-5-1. I am hoping someone can explain / justify the reason for using diaby and denilson over song and arshavin.
i feel sorry for all the talent that joins arsenal just to be fucked over by wenger….vela, arshavin, ramsey
April 18th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I am kinda glad we lost actually. Just imagine we went through and win it all. Wenger will probably stick to his policy next year and the year next and on and on….So good we lost. I am waiting for us to loose CL as well.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
hahaha….do you really think this is going to change shit ? pass me some of the good shit you are smoking. Wenger is blind
April 18th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
and credit to chelsea, they deserved to win this game…the players were hungry, as opposed to our unmotivated fucking lot…they went in for the tackles, did things a team who has to play in the finals has to do….
fuck u wenger…..u have let us all down…..fucking bastard, u talk about maximising our strengths..our strength was clearly in attacking and what did u fucking put out???????
enough of ur fucking youth….diaby and denilson were doing nothing the entire game..but u still kept playing them…..i dont care if we go and the CL and the liverpool game , cos today what u did can never be forgiven..never…..
April 18th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
You are right. Wenger does NOT deserve to win this cup.
I really wish it we had lost in January and not come all the way here to lose to Chelsea.
Man, I was looking forward to this match all week, and Wenger did not even give the team a chance.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Plus remember guys, all along, his goal is to achieve 4th place and qualify for CL next season, that is it. To him everything else is a BONUS. I don’t he wants to win anything. He is taking things for granted. He is the shit, everyone else is wrong. A massive L .
April 18th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Wenger got it all wrong and everyone here, in the pubs, in Wembley knows it. The players probably knew it too and just watch … it’s all downhill from here. I really thought we could beat Chelsea. The starting lineup, the tactics (none), and the substitutions were shite. Chelsea were not anything special. Wenger did more damage to the team’s psyche by playing and losing with the 4-5-1 than having the kids play the 4-4-2 and see what they can do against a top team. I’m not even mad at the players … I’m just livid at Wenger.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
when is enough enough? denilson would not start for any of the top 6 teams but has played 90% of ours!! he adds no value and everybody knows it! how can wenger not see it? Fab has been outstanding in the last few games because of song’s presence! why would you put him on the bench?
April 18th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
have to feel for fabianski. he had a horrible match and on his birthday too. i don’t care too much about the FA cup but I am worried about what this match will do for his confidence in the more important EPL and CL matches (if Almunia is out that long, I forget how long its supposed to be). Silvestre proved to be nothing special, he surely will not be at Arsenal next year as he will go to Ligue 1 to retire.
Why were Nasri and Arshavin on the bench while Diaby and Denilson started? Its not like either of the latter two can play DM anyways. I’m going to go take a nap now. That match was very dull and sucked the life out of me.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
i really dont care if we win the CL….this was an insult to all arsenal fans …..he couldnt get his fucking basics right…..motherfucker…or rather denilsonfucker>>>>
sorry for the language ..but today i really dont care…….
April 18th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Yeah man, agree with u too.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
True! cannot be forgiven!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Denilson was worthless…. Fabianski totally at fault for the first goal… near post!!
Wathcing Denilson simply jog with his man he is supposed to be marking makes me sick. CHelsea midfield always had a man open for the pass… Denilson put much pressure on the backline and honestly…should have gotten a red for pushing the ref…. get him out…. he is bench player. Flamini would have been slide tacking the whole game….
April 18th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Prepare everybody. Fab & RVP are gone. Not to say RVP is the shit either. But better than Denilson Wenger ( They have blood ties btw, did u know?)
April 18th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I just don’t get Wenger’s rationale today at all. After essentially getting away with starting Denilson over Song for one half, why did he not count his blessings and substitute Denilson at the 60th? Why did he throw in the towel by substituting Bendtner for Adebayor? Why wait so long to put in Arshavin? And, if the rationale for all these moves is that the FA Cup does not really matter given the fixture congestion, then why waste Fabregas in this game? Finally, I know Fabianski is getting a lot of stick/abuse for his play today, but the truth is that, Eboue and Silvestre put Fabianski constantly in harm’s way. And, the two times Fabianski got caught out of his area, it was because Silvestre was pushed aside by Drogba as if Silvestre was an arthritic, tired shell of a defender which he is.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
From the 35th minute onwards it was VERY obvious Chelsea were going to score at least ONE more.
We played like UTTER SHIT. Wenger took RvP, Adebayor and Fabregas OUT OF THE GAME with his idiotic formation.
Arshavin who must have been PREPARING FULL TIME for the FA CUP as his show piece was FUCKED OVER big time. Just so that Diaby that idiot could play.
And ofcourse Song is too “weak” to play against Chelsea.
Wenger should RESIGN …. or be fucking fired! It is obvious we will NEVER win with him again. Moron.
I mean how can you see what is happening on the pitch for over 50 minutes and STILL not bring in Arshavin!
This is the exact same thing that would have happened to us against Villareal if we had played this formation, and I thought Wenger actually knew that.
Wenger is a senile, old LOSER.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
“Why were Nasri and Arshavin on the bench while Diaby and Denilson started?”
What kind of ignorant question is that????
Wenger and Denilson are fuck buddies.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
This Denilson experiment is over. Get him out. Song, Diaby anyone else please…. He is too small and too gentle to be protecting the defense. I dont care what is pass rate is. He doesnt change the game at all.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Yet again, when it is prime time, we choke. Is it any surprise, we have so many youngsters who just do not know how to handle the big time. You look at every single key game in the last two seasons and you will see that we blew it from being in a strong position. Leads over Chelsea and ManU in the league games last season. Having got ahead on away goals at Anfield in the CL. Same thing happened again today.
Yet another trophyless season. Sigh.
Is it every going to change unless we sign some experience? I doubt it.
You can blame Fabianski for the loss and certainly he bears a big portion of the blame, but name one youngster who had a good game today? Diaby was aweful, Denilson was anonymous as always (good or bad depending on your outlook). I thought Eboue had a bad game too. Walcott was threatening and Gibbs was decent. Silvestre was a washout.
Maybe we will fix it next season. Maybe not.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
We should have played with Arshavin, Fab, Song, Walcott… go 442 and attack chelsea….
I bet Senderos is smiling right now….. see its not me!!! Drogba does this all the time!!!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Why even bother. Next year a record setting season: “The average age of the first team squad is 19.” And DENILSON will be our main guy. That is how shit our team will be next year. And of course Wenger will be full of it.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Lol
April 18th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I just do not understand, till the VERY END we played with 4-5-1 – even when we needed a goal. WOOOOW!
The worst part is that by winning this game in THIS fashion, the confidence of the team is COMPLETELY SHOT.
The probability that Liverpool will HAMMER us into the ground at Anfield is 100%.
Fuck Wenger.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
” Senderos is probably on the phone right now with Wenger and said”hahaha Wenger, you suck”.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I’m part of the “Arsene knows” crowd. He’s been fantastic for Arsenal but he’s lost the plot for a while now and had been making excuses for him. After today, no more. Why one of our only world-class players is on the bench who is CL cup tied is beyond me. It’s is totally IDIOTIC. Denilson was lucky not to be red carded for petulance and was shite. The defense did not mark at all and Silvestre is old and slow. Nothing is going to change that. My Man Utd friends even laughed when we got him. Wenger, please retire to Director of Football and bring in a new manager. I don’t even care, bring in the special one Mourinho, at least we’d win a few trophies with this team.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
and to think i spent 2 hrs teaching my 2 year old son…..arsenal win…chelsea loose. this morning i asked him who was going to win “arsenal or chelsea” and he said chelsea. no matter how many times i asked him..it was always chelsea.
i still had hope till i heard the line up on fucking setanta. next time i will listen to him over my emotion.
wenger has fucked his own vision by playing denlison and diaby.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I dont mind losing a game in which we played our best team and we lose fair. What really gets to me about this game is that we DID NOT play the best team and the substitutions were worse. Its almost as if Wenger did not want to win the game, like he is saving players for a bigger game or something absolutely mindboggled! We have Liverpool on Tuesday against Liverpool at Anfield, not a very important game in the context of our season especially considering that Villa drew today. Why not play your best available players today and rotate on Tuesday if need be. its inexcusable to NOT play Song and Arshavin and to substitute RVP and Ade unless there were injury concerns… I really feel like we simply threw this game away like it does not matter…This game matters a lot to us Wenger!! Wish you had taken it more seriously!!
April 18th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Yes, the youngsters didnt exactly cover themselves in glory. But how can you expect them to do anything when Wenger sends them out in a formation that from the very beginning takes out Ade, RvP, Cesc AND does not have our most experienced and best AM nor a Defensive Midfielder????
April 18th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
the only way to justify wenger’s thinking is that he is desperate (even more that he want denilsons ass) for CL.
This is what the ass hat said “”When you are so close and you are only 20 years of age, I don’t know why you should be desperate to win something straight away.”
fuck u wenger….fuck u
April 18th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I felt the same way. Before this game, I was confident we could take on Man Utd in the semis and get to the CL final. Wenger has killed that confidence. I think we have no shot against the evil empire now. Just watch. The team is going to crumble. And you think Wenger will bring in experienced players? That’s a laugh.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
This is why all that “unbeaten run” thing goes out of the window and reality is slapped right into your face, isn’t it? I mean, yes, the unbeaten run has helped us secure 4th place and who knows what would have happened if we couldn’t even manage that. But it also papered over some cracks which get exposed big time in the big games.
It is all fine if you say – ok, i screwed up and i will fix it next season. Instead if you are thinking – ah, my youth are great otherwise how did we manage this unbeaten run – this is what happens. It is easy to forget that the only notable win we managed in that run was over Chelsea (and that was the first game of the run). We couldn’t beat any other CL challenging team and that should be telling us a lot, I imagine. Anyways…
April 18th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I will never forgive Wenger for this match.
The ONE game, we had someone who balanced Fabregas perfectly, we had to ultimate combo of Arshavin and Walcott PLUS our two first choice strikers fit.
Pick the OBVIOUS team and go all out attack. Simple no?
FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE! And Wenger is a giant pussy.
All those years I used to think the Invincibles did not have what it takes to break Europe……..little did I know it was Wenger holding them back.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I just dont know how else to say this…if you are playing in the FA Cup semi final and that is your best chance of silverware this season, you play you BEST AVAILABLE team pure and simple. That is not the time to experiment or even rotate. This was a BIG BIG game for us and Wenger totally screwed it up…I have not been this upset about a football game in a really long time because Wenger got the simple things wrong today and it cost us dearly. Yes Silvestre is useless and yes Fabianski messed up but those errors pale in comparison to Wengers today in my opinion.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I am not blaming the youngsters. I am merely pointing out what happens when too many youngsters are thrown into the deep end of things. You know who is to blame.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I agree Nipuna
April 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
ANR sums it up succinctly
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1241&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42
April 18th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I understand what you are saying. Too many inexperienced players. True.
What I am saying is that even with the players we had, Wenger completely HAMSTRUNG the team today.
April 18th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I wonder what Arshavin is thinking now? He has been rested and ready and now this? Im sure he would have relished sticking it to Guus even more! Wenger honestly is scared of chelsea….
April 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
The worst part of this defeat is that ALL the players will know we really fucked up our balance, the first 11 and the subs. They will know.
Imagine what RvP, Fabregas, Adebayor, Arshavin will be thinking RIGHT NOW. They know they will never win under Wenger.
If I were Arshavin, I would play out of my skin in the remaining games and end the season strongly. Then I would tell my agent to start contacting the Big 3 clubs.
He is 28 this year, he doesnt have time if he is really serious about hitting the big time with even a chance of trophies.
April 18th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
The worst part about this is I absolutely refused to take the Mrs somewhere today because of the game and so she is not talking to me at the moment. There is really no consolation for me today
April 18th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I was under the impression that Ade was a nightmare forward to deal with and was one of the select few who could trouble a defence by himself?
I’ve always thought it was bollocks myself.
Anyway, Wenger fucked up so many levels….yet again……that you wouldn’t know where to start.
April 18th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I know I shouldn’t let sports get the better of my emotions, but this game really does have me depressed. Had we played our best team and lost in an epic battle, then fine. I know I’m just echoing the sentiments of everyone else but, I the pain of this loss comes from thinking about what could have been. And there was no reason not to go for it. Wenger must be fired. Yet we all have this feeling of complete helplessness, because we know the board won’t do it, and we know Wenger won’t change anything. Fuck. Thank god the Bulls just beat Boston, which helped ease the pain for awhile.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Agree completely, it is that helplessness that is really killing me right now. I have never felt this depressed after a game.
But my situation is worse than yours, for some stupid reason, in my youth, I decided not to follow any American sports! I am paying dearly for that now.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Yep. I even spoke about it last week. The team wasn’t convincing me one of little bit. Lack of cohesion and compactness, offensively and defensively.
That shit becomes glaringly obvious against the likes of Chelsea.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
lol.
April 18th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I am sure Arsene is worried about you forgiving him.
Why not go support some other team!
Haaaaaaaa!
April 18th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I would have to say that Arsene wasn’t that interested in winning the FA Cup.
You might not like that thought process or philosophy… but with the line-up he selected, I think its possible.
If you read the posts… its funny!
Now Wenger is an imbecile, idiot, should be fired, doesn’t know football or tactics… and it ping-pongs with wins and losses or poor matches.
The fact remains… FABIANSKI blew the match.
IF Almunia started, I think we would have won the match.
He was responsible for both goals, and could have cost us two more with his
play.
Yes, sure…. tell me he is a NO.1 keeper.
That is a sick joke.
We led.
We were even at the 80th minute, despite being on the backfoot.
With a defense decimated by injuries… we had a chance.
Oh well. FA Cup. Whatever. Hasn’t been a Wenger priority for years.
We made the Semi-Finals… 4th place looks good… and we make the Semi-Finals of the CL.
If we are going for the PROFIT Cup… which it appears is most important, then its been a banner year… 2 Cup Semi’s… and it appears we will keep 4th and the CL place next year.
The board and shareholders will be ecstatic.
After all, we are just trying to pay off the stadium debt. Right?
April 18th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Yes, Fabianski. The guy who plays like he’s got intravenous drip of caffeine on his arm all game. He is the defination of clown. Always has been.
April 18th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Maybe he did blow the two goals, but going into the match I think everybody realized that Chelski scoring two goals against our weakened defense/GK was a definite possibility; Arsene could have prepared for that and should have, by giving us the attacking options to follow suit- but he didn’t. Which either means he’s an idiot and didn’t think they’d score at least two, or he realized it and didn’t prepare for it anyways b/c he doesn’t care about the FA Cup.
I strongly suspect the latter, which infuriates me b/c it is very irresponsible on his part. Maybe he doesn’t care about certain trophies, but the 45,000 Gooners at Wembley did and the millions more watching on TV did, and at the end of the day the team is as much ours as his. At some point you have to take stock of what the fans want, and we all definitely wanted this one- we wanted it bad. And for Arsene to ignore that and continue headstrong down his self-centered path was very irresponsible, and (dare I say) condescending to the fans.
Yes, Fabianski played poorly, but a good manager would be able to foresee such things and prepare for them. Arsene foresaw, then ignored, then lost. Unfortunately those of us that could foresee it and would have prepared for it lost too. Thanks a lot Arsene. The team may be some play thing for you to test out your youth system and line the pockets with CL money, but it means much more than that to the legions of Gooners from North London and around the world. If you don’t want to at least TRY to win (which from the looks of it today, you don’t) then please go away.
April 18th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Still upset. Everyone knew since the defense was weak, so we needed a strong midfield. Then why were Song and Arshavin not playing? I don’t get it.
Here is something that bothers me as well:
1) Carling Cup loss where Drogba got two goals, with the winner coming in the 84th minute
GK & defense that day: Almunia ,Hoyte, Toure, Senderos,Traore (Eboue ,66 )
2) League loss last season where Drogba got two goals again with the winner in the 82nd minute
GK & defense: Almunia, Sagna (although he was injured and off the field by the time Drogba tied the game up),Toure,Gallas,Clichy
3) and then today, Drogba getting the winner in the 84th min again.
today’s GK and defense: Fabianski ,Eboue ,Toure ,Silvestre ,Gibbs
It doesn’t matter who lines up and how, it seems when the game is nearing the end, Arsenal can’t handle Drogba. Maybe just a coincidence that he got the winner on 3 occasions at the same time but I don’t think so. It points to how arsenal just start getting tired and are ready to be plucked as the clock winds down. Maybe if Sagna was around, then things would have been different just like last season when his unfortunate injury changed things.
Although there was another time when Essien tied the game up in the 84th minute with the GK & defense line-up that day being:
Lehmann ,Eboue ,Djourou ,Senderos ,Clichy
So when the league game comes around, Drogba might just go to sleep and lay by the touchline. And then when the game is in the 80 minute, someone will wake him up and sure enough he will score against Arsenal. Argh….
April 18th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Stag,
I’m not usually a hater, but stop that bullshit.
We lost the game, before the game started, due to Arsene’s ineptitude in putting our best 11 players on the field. We lost the game because of Arsene’s total lack of judgment in making substitutions which might have swayed the outcome.
I was in a Pub with about 100 Arsenal supporters who all heaved a collective sign when the lineup was shown, sans Song and Arshavin. The same sighs rang around the room when he made his 2 very idiotic substitutions.
NOT WANTING TO WIN THE FA?
Bullshit, this was 1 of only 2 remaining vehicles for silverware which could substantiate his “YOUNG” team, and Arsene just plain panicked. At this point I really don’t care what he has done for Arsenal in the past. Fact is, he has shown in the past 4 years that he is incapable of assessing team needs, formation, selection and general field strategy.
Losing is one thing, but, losing because we failed to put our best team on the field is totally inexcusable.
No single person is greater than our team, Arsenal, and if he can’t differentiate between ideology and f actuality he is no longer an asset to the club.
As Myles Palmer said in his blog:
“What does Stan Kroenke think of a manager who doesn’t pick his best footballer?”.
Nuff said.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Our esteemed leader, although not directly blaming the Wembley pitch, focused on the poor pitch condition for most of his post game ramble with Journalists.
According to Wenger, Nasri and Arshavin were benched because they needed the physical presence of Arshavin. As yet, no word on why Song didn’t start, and why the great physical specimen, Denilson, did.
Denilson = physical specimen? Hmmmmm, something to think about I guess.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Who gives a fuck what you think you brainless piece of horse fart.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I knew the clown will come out and blame the pitch.
Which of our players was so technical he needed an ultra flat surface to perform??? Adeboyor? Or was it Diaby? Maybe that fine physical specimen Denilson??? LOL.
Wenger is cowardly excuse-maker through and through.
We have combined terrible football for the most part with extremely poor formations and tactics with that wholesome vinegar taste of defeatism. Perfectly Wengerish. The guy must go.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Yeah that is what bothers me. The best 11 available were not picked. Why? Are Song and Arshavin being saved for Liverpool? Honestly, the Liverpool game rates much less compared to the F.A Cup semi. The quest for 3rd place or 4th place can be put on a hold while the quest for the trophy that was once soooooo important under Wenger was re-started. But I guess not.
When I saw the line-up, I was shocked. But I thought that maybe Song and Arshavin would come on after 45 minutes as Song was given a slight rest. But no…nothing…
April 18th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
The funniest part is that you will think he has learned from today. But he honestly thinks we were just unlucky, thats it.
Up till this moment he still does not recognise that our major players are rendered anonymous by the 4-5-1 and the fact that our weak defense (or any defense whatsoever) really needs a DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER infront of it.
He hasnt learned anything. Against Man U in the CL you can be sure that despite Man U playing 4-4-2, we will play 4-5-1.
And in that 4-5-1, Denilson and Diaby will start again, with RvP on the wings!
LOOOOL!
PS: Another lesson Wenger might not have learned from is that anything one of your major rivals happily allows one of his players to move to you for less than 1 million, then that player is utter, utter rubbish. Especially if that same manager was the one who vowed to “rather die than” sell Heinze to Liverpool.
Silvestre makes Senderos look like Matthias Sammer.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I’m just a simple supporter. As a result I was baffled as apparently many were by some of the line up decisions made today by Wenger. The obvious non selections were Song and Arshavin. I’m completely flamoozled by that. To quote a former NY Jets coach, “you play to win the game”. The missing players meant that Wenger for whatever Machiavellian reason did not play to win this game. WHY!!!! The answer lies in the twilight zone.
A word to Fabianski: isn’t amazing how stupid you look when you come up against real football players of quality and speed. Your not in Pooterville anymore son. Bad timing for us that you got a lesson today in how not to play goal for a ‘top’ club.
Putting RVP on the left guarantees he will be useless. Playing Adebayor with no real support is a recipe no goals.
Gibbs was Arsenal’s MOTM. No disrespect but you can’t have your 19yo LB w/ a dodgy groin as your MOTM.
I’ve seen this type of performance from Chelsea against Aston Villa where they clearly possessed more testosterone than Villa. Today we played like we haven’t even reached puberty yet.
Wenger will need to confess just what the hell was thinking before this match after the season. To my simple eyes, Wenger got it all wrong today and now I’ll have to listen to the baying of my Chelsea supporting friend. Worse things in life I suppose.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Oh, CK. You with your always believing what your eyes, ears and brain tells you. That’s not how blind faith works. Wenger is like Tinkerbell. You just have to believe.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Oh, he’s a specimen all right. I gave my doctor one just like him, my last exam.
April 19th, 2009 at 7:07 am
April 19th, 2009 at 9:04 am
About Silvestre…I’ll be a broken record on this one more time, then I’ll let it go.
Why should this have been a lesson for a sophisticated evaluator of top flight football talent? Why would anyone have believed it would turn out any differently? I’m a non-sophisticated evaluator of top flight football talent, but I’ve seen enough United football over the last few years to know Silvestre was an ‘In case of emergency only’ back, at best. But even if you had lived in a cave since 2003, the price tag and the context made it plain SAF absolutely KNEW Silvestre had nothing to contribute to AFC. But, of course, Arsene knows (TM) better.
Thus, the £750,000 Man wound up being a perfect metaphor for the season. Don’t believe what you see, believe what I tell you.
Or to quote another group of Mancs….Don’t believe the truth.
And where are the true believers now? As usual at times like this, their silence says it all.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Just watched the game this morning not knowing the result and I haven’t read any of your comments yet so sorry if I repeat what’s already been said.
Starting at the back, Fabianski’s finally got his big break to show us what he can do. There’s been some debate on whether he should be our guy right now because he’s viewed as more agressive. The reality is there’s more to being a good goal keeper than just the shock and awe component of being agressive. It’s about judgement. Despite playing fewer games, Fabianski has probably made more mistakes than Almunia has this season. The difference is we played Chelsea yesterday and Fabianski was made to pay for some of his mistakes. Most people saw that his reckless agression would lead to this. Hopefully the debate over who’s the best guy in goal is over.
Speaking of the best guy, despite me being a Denilson advocate all season, I think Song should have been given a chance to prove what he can do. I watched the Wigan game on Friday and he was very good in that game as well as against Villareal. But wigan and a weakened Villareal are not Chelsea. He’s playing much better than earlier in the season and I was interested to see how well he’d do in tougher games. Hopefully we’ll get to see what he can do against Liverpool. Also, a semi-final against Chelsea was a bad come-back game for Diaby to start. I think he should have played but only the last 25 minutes.
Lastly, if we play a 4-5-1, we needed somebody to support Adebayor. That person should have been Nasri, Arshavin, or van Persie. Fabregas will try his best but that’s not the strength of his game. Also, Arshavin should have played from the start as he’s had all week to mentally prepare for this game. Finally, why would you take your two best strikers off when the game is still in the balance?
The only thing I can think of to justify Wenger’s tactics is that he’s chosen to rest guys for Tuesday. He’s been talking more in the media about finishing third than about winning the FA Cup. To finish third this season means a complete pre-season without the interruptions of CL qualification matches and international tournaments. I’ve always believed that a good pre-season would prove very significant to our chances of winning the league. The way he abandoned the 4-5-1 for the 4-4-2 against Wigan meant to me that he absolutely refuses to drop a single point in the Premier League. If I’m right, that would mean that Wenger will play every single game to win from now until the end of the season. It’s just a theory. We’ll see based on Wenger’s reaction if we lose or draw a league match.
April 19th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Carib.
Bullshit in YOUR mind.
I am entitled to my opinion.
NO. We did NOT lose the game before it started.
We led.
We were winning and it was a competitive match… with the team Arsene selected.
If the keeper played well… or even PROPERLY… we would have either
won the match, or been playing in overtime or penalties.
I don’t like to single out players… but he was atrocious.
That is why Almunia starts over him.
YOU and your pals at the pub might not like the line-up, but you aren’t managing, and you don’t have a clue what is going on with players and line-ups.
Arsene does… he knows about knocks players have, slight injuries, and what HE wants to do as far as tactics.
He POSSIBLY did not care as much about the FA Cup… he played a line-up that he felt was good enough… or he didn’t really value winning the FA Cup over getting 4th in the league or giving us a best shot at the CL.
However… WE LED.
and… the keeper was at fault for both goals, not Arsene.
So, having said that…
if Fabianski played like an average to good keeper, we WIN.
So, Wenger put a team out that could have and should have won.
OPINION.
April 19th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Yes.
Wenger must go.
He’s a coward.
YOU must stay.
We need you.
BERGKAMP for Manager.
Yes, go back to that GEM.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Bergkamp for Manager for sure! Glad you are finally on my side.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Nobody gives a shit about your opinion.
You are the same bone-headed, brainless imbecile who was advocating for us to “play defensive at first” against Villareal.
FOOL.